The work and musings of Quilliam Collister watercolour artist and traveller

Inverness

I’ve not been doing any major drawings or paintings over the last few days as Paulette and I have been trying to see and do as much as we can in the limited time we have available. Travel often seems to involve compromise, it would be great to travel somewhere then settle for a week or so with gentle day outings and lots of painting time, but when you’ve come so far (and spent so much) it’s hard to avoid trying to see as much as possible.
Never mind we’re having a quiet week on Kefalonia towards the end of our holiday.
However I am managing one quick sketch most days, usually while we are having a meal or coffee, and yesterday at Oban I sat for 30mins or so and drew the harbour scene above.
On our last day in the lake district we visited Hill Tops, the home of Beatrix Potter (now she could draw and paint watercolours) before a quick motorway dash past Glasgow to Dumbarton, a previously industrial town which surprised us by having a beautiful walk along the Clyde, a cool castle and a nice river which runs out of Loch Lomond.
The next day took us around the Loch and at about coffee time Paulette suggested that we stop at a railway station cafe which was excellent (not). We just missed the Royal Scotsman train the coffee came out of a pump flask and the cake was almost pure sugar. It’s these events which make a holiday! On then to Oban with it’s great harbour and ferries heading off to all the outer islands, and to Fort William where we stayed last night.
Today we drove the length of the Great Glen stopping at several locks on the Caledonian canal, for a ride up the Ben Nevis gondola for a misty view and at Urquart castle.
We’ve stayed in bed and breakfast accommodation and initially loved cooked breakfasts but are now heartily sick of them.
Will catch up again soon.